Apple of His Eye: Bad End
by bkreeger00637240
Summary: For more endings, please visit /apple-of-his-eye to download the FREE visual novel. I promise more is explained there :)


Hacking and slashing weeds, hacking and slashing monsters, it all felt the same after a couple months here.

Still, by the end of chore time, you're covered in blood and sweat.

Good thing monsters evaporated after killing them or you'd have a mess to clean up today.

The number of monsters had been increasing lately.

You were worried about this trend continuing; you needed to get stronger.

You decide to go to the caves to fight more challenging monsters.

Besides, sometimes you find treasure there.

To the caves you go! You basically skip on your way there, excited at the prospect of giving more beasties their due, and the potential for treasure of course. You take the back roads through the forest so no one will see your blood-crusted figure, or so you think...

"Reina! Is that blood?!"

You skid to a halt and look around. You see Vaughn with his mouth agape, cigarette dangling precariously between his teeth. "It is, but if it helps, most of it isn't mine, and what is mine is only from where I cut myself on my scythe."

"Do I even want to know what else you've been cutting with a scythe?"

"Not people if that's what you're worried about." Damn is this really what the villagers thought of you? Maybe you should have gone to town to get to know them...

"I know that, I mean... you're a rancher, right? You don't, well, thin the heard like that, do you?"

"Goddess no! What? That's horrible! My ranch is infested with monsters, I have to fight them off as I water crops-and I keep the few animals I have inside most of the time so they don't get hurt."

"Your ranch is...?" Vaughn takes a drag off of his cigarette. "That's kinda bad ass."

You smile; this is your chance to impress someone. You draw your sword from its sheath. "Thanks, I don't use a scythe to deal with them, though. Can't have blood staining my crops."

Vaughn smiles back, and his eyes widen as he looks at the sword. "I suppose not."

You're amused by his reaction. "Do you want to hold it?"

"Would that be all right?"

"Of course! Here," you walk close enough to him to get a wisp of his cigarette in your nose and hand him the sword.

"Whoa, you... use this?"

"Daily."

"I had no idea the old ranch had become infested with monsters." Vaughn gently slides the sword through the air. "This is pretty cool."

You feel like you're making a break though, after nearly half a year of being avoided by villagers someone your age thought you were cool! Okay, maybe it was mainly the sword, but still!

"I was going to go to the mountains to to fight some beasties and look for treasure, but you can come along with if you want."

Vaughn looks thrilled at the idea.

"I have a spare sword," you pat the second sword on your hip, "and I can keep you safe, don't worry."

"Well... I don't have much experience"

"If you're really that worried, I can take you to the ranch and let you get in some practice swings, but I can tell you really want to use that sword."

Vaughn took a last hit off of his cigarette and stomped it on the ground. When the smoke cleared, you could see he was smiling. "It would break up the monotony of my day."

"That's the spirit! Hope your parents won't mind you coming home covered in blood."

Vaughn's smile faltered a little. "My mom won't notice, trust me."

Did he not have a dad? You kick yourself mentally for not knowing these things.

Vaughn seemed to pick up on the question you wanted to ask, and answered as you two set off back to your ranch. "My dad split when I was young, my stepdad and half sister take up all my mom's time now. Those two and her carpentry anyway."

"I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, you just moved here and have a ranch that keeps you busy. Still though..."

"Hm?"

"Monsters on your ranch? I'm sure it didn't always used to be like that, makes me worry about the rest of the village." Vaughn's shoulders seemed to tense up as he said this.

"Don't worry," you put a hand on his shoulder. "My ranch is pretty far removed from anything else, and we're gonna stop those monsters in their tracks."

"Yeah."

"Still though," You keep walking with Vaughn in suit, "You can use my shower, even if you don't get blood on you, to get that smoke smell out."

"Eh, it's usually gone by the time I get back to the house anyway. I'm more worried about my clothes."

"Don't, I'll take care of you."

"That's awfully kind of someone I've never had a real conversation with before today."

"Yeah well, I've been trying to earn brownie points with people ever since I moved here... you're the first person that's given me the time of day."

"Have you spoken to Ash or Abigail?"

"Who?"

Vaughn chortled. "That's your problem, this town is so tight knit you gotta start with us outcasts first if you're ever going to get in."

"Good to know." You smile and before you know it... you're at the ranch

"We can start you off easy-see that slime over there?" You nod to a slime peeking out behind a bush.

"I just give it a whack?"

"Sure do, aim for the part of it that looks a little thicker than the rest of it if you can."

"Yup..."

Eyes on the prize, Vaughn sneaks up on it and slices clean through the slime, making it dissipate on the spot. Well, not entirely cleanly.

"Ugh, I think I got some of its blood in my mouth."

You laugh. "That's happened to me more times than I can count-consider it your initiation."

You and Vaughn spend the evening slicing and dicing the weak monsters that roamed in, all of the relatively stronger ones vanquished by you earlier that morning.

"The sun is completely gone, we better get inside."

"Why?" Vaughn withdrew his borrowed sword from the corpse of a drake. "This is just getting fun."

"No no, trust me, you don't want to want to be out here at night, it's still hard for even me to deal with some of the monsters that come out after dark."

"Okay..." Vaughn play sighs in frustration, but his beaming face shone in the moonlight.

Leading Vaughn around your delicate (easily trampled) crops you head inside.

"Do you mind spending the night? I'm really not joking about being worried with you out there."

"Mhhhmm..."

"What?" For some reason you blush-you were just pointing out the obvious.

"I'm not used to women being direct with me."

Your blush intensifies, clearly his testosterone was flowing after killing the monsters. "No seriously, it's not a proposition, it just makes sense!" You realize your voice squeaked a little as Vaughn laughed.

It wasn't that Vaughn was unattractive, quite the contrary, he had a lean body, flowing silver hair, and piercing red eyes that seemed to have gotten brighter as the day grew darker. And that face looked like it was chiseled from marble... but that would be preposterous!

"I'm messing with you," he nudged you and you all but jump out of your skin. "Although I'm a man before a gentleman, I have someone else that I have my eye on."

For some reason, this makes your prickle inside. "All for the best, c'mon, I call first shower."

You remember a little too late that your house is all one big room... shower and bathroom included.

"You can help yourself to anything in the fridge," you nod and hurriedly walk off to the shower like nothing was wrong.

You draw the mostly opaque shower curtain behind you, strip down, and turn the water on. You feel like Vaughn's eyes are on you, but you don't look to check. You finish up, grab your bathrobe through a gap in the curtain and see that Vaughn had helped himself to some of your wine.

"This stuff is pretty strong, huh?" Vaughn's eyes gazed piercingly at you, if a little glazed.

"You going to be okay standing up in the shower?"

Vaughn just stares at you.

"It's okay dear, it can wait until morning"

Vaughn takes another swig of wine straight out of the bottle. "Thanks."

"Let's get you out of those clothes though."

You meant while you weren't looking. You meant you'd give him your bathrobe while you changed into your pajamas, preferably while Vaughn at least pretended to look the other way. You meant to preserve all modesty. You did not mean for him to take his shirt and pants off and sit there on your floor completely naked.

"I-I..."

Vaughn laid down and smiled playfully at you. "Have a drink Reina."

Was this really happening? You'd never even spoken to the man before today... should you drink?

The absurdity of this situation was all too much, you needed a drink anyway to take the edge of it off. You sit with a sigh and take a sip straight out of the bottle as well. It's not like he's in any condition to do anything anyway, right?

"So tell me Reina, do you have anyone special in your life?"

"I have a favorite cow, but that's about as close as it gets for me." You answer honestly.

Vaughn sat up and slid a little closer, a little too close in your opinion to you. "I lied before, I just wanted you to think I was cool, I don't have anyone waiting for me."

"I should hope not with the way you're acting."

"I'm not acting any differently than any man around a beautiful woman would."

"I beg to differ."

"I... I have another confession."

"Oh yeah?"

"The reason why I smoke there, it's because, well, it's because I can watch you whenever you go to the mountains, today was just the first day I had the courage to talk to you."

"That's a little creepy."

"Creepy or romantic?" Vaughn smiled like he was enjoying himself.

"Definitely creepy, sorry." But you were a little charmed despite yourself. If you'd made such an impression on Vaughn, surely the other villagers couldn't completely hate you, right?

"Well, so be it, I'm awkward and don't know how to compose myself, I've always been like that." He took a swig of the wine.

"You've probably had enough of that, Vaughn."

"You said my name!" He beamed so charismatically, in almost a child like way, it almost makes you forget how uncomfortable you feel. "I'm just, so so happy to be here with you." He took another swig.

You get up and throw him the blanket from your bed for him to cover himself with, something you should have thought to do before now.

"I tell you what, if I give you a kiss, will you go to bed on the floor?"

Vaughn smile spread to his eyes this time... he looked kinda cute. He nodded a little too fast and looked woozy.

In a smooth motion, you graze his lips with yours and take the bottle out of his hand. You open your eyes to see his own are as wide as you've ever seen them and a blush red enough to match his eyes etched its way along his face.

"Oh my..." Vaughn mumbles before falling into your lap. You stay there unsure of what to do. After a moment, it became clear that he had passed out in your lap.

In the end, you grab some of the blanket to use as a pillow and fall asleep next to him on the floor.

You wake up with a horrible ache in your legs, opening your eyes you see why. Vaughn hadn't moved his head since last night, but it was time for you to do your chores. You gently place the blanket to substitute your legs underneath his head and get to work.

Afterwards you walk into the cabin to find Vaughn in washed clothes making lunch. You raise an eyebrow at him.

"It's the least I can do to apologize for my behavior last night." He said simply and solemnly.

"Oh, you weren't that bad."

Vaughn tisked. "Yes I was."

You enjoy a quiet meal together. You tell Vaughn he can keep the sword and he seems to perk up a little, but he seems a little defeated none the less.

"This wasn't the good end." He sighs and picks up the bottle from last night and chugs the rest of it.

After today somehow you never ran into Vaughn, Abigail, or Ash again.


End file.
